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Festicket receives $4.6m funding from Edge Investments

UK-based festival travel portal Festicket has secured a funding round of US$4.6 million from creative industries investment specialist, Edge Investments.

The investment from venture-capital firm Edge brings the total raised by the festival and travel company to nearly $30 million, following a series-D funding round led by venture-capital firm Beringea in December and investments from merchant bank Lepe Partners and multiple venture-capital firms.

The injection of funds has enabled Festicket to expand globally. The company, which partners with festivals to provide travel packages for festivalgoers, works with more than 2.5 million customers and 1,200 festivals across 50 countries worldwide.

Festicket now has offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, Berlin and Porto, in addition to its London headquarters.

With Edge’s investment, Festicket hopes to expand into new North American and Asian markets, as well as further developing its technology platform. Additional plans include the building of an exclusive membership tier with added benefits for its users.

“We are excited to partner with such a fast-growing company,” says Edge investment director David Fisher, who led the investment with Festicket.

“Festicket solves an everyday millennial pain-point by streamlining, personalising and curating live experiences”

“The experience, events and festival markets continue to grow exponentially and Festicket is strategically positioned to benefit from these combined trends as a horizontally integrated platform,” says Fisher.

Festicket founder and chief executive Zack Sabban says that the investment comes “at a really important time for Festicket”, commenting that Edge “feels like the perfect match” for his company.

“Edge has a unique network and wide music industry knowledge, as well as an excellent understanding of our approach to content and community – a crucial ingredient in our growth recipe,” says Sabban.

Edge’s team of music industry specialists includes music impresario Harvey Goldsmith and former music industry lawyer David Glick.

Edge chief executive Glick comments on Festicket’s “talented and committed management team,” led by co-founders Sabban and Jonathan Younes and joined by recent hires from companies such as Live Nation, Eventbrite and Channel 4.

“[Sabban and Younes] know why they are building Festicket into a huge business, solving an everyday millennial pain-point by streamlining, personalising and curating thousands of live experiences for millions of customers,” says Glick.

 


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Edge’s £40m boost to UK’s creative economy

Edge Investments has raised £40million (€55.4m) in funding, with UK Government support, to invest in high-growth companies in the creative industries.

The company’s new Edge Creative Enterprise Fund brings together private sector finances from leading institutions and high net-worth individuals, with a significant investment from the Government’s British Business Bank.

Edge will use the money to nurture and assist creative businesses. By their nature, many of these companies start with a small number of employees, and a high degree of entrepreneurial flair. Edge says it will provide the crucial capital and mentoring skills to stimulate growth and innovation at these firms. In this way, it will create growth and returns for both the management teams of its portfolio companies and its investors.

“The creative industries are one of the UK’s great success stories, an area where Britain excels,” notes Edge Investments CEO, David Glick. “Our view is that a high degree of sector knowledge mitigates risk and also allows us to assess the most promising opportunities and most talented executives.”

The creative and cultural economy is an important part of the global economy, and Britain’s creative industries sector is thriving – accounting for approximately 10% of the entire UK economy and providing 2.55 million jobs. Indeed, in terms of employment, the sector is growing four times faster than the economy as a whole.

Edge has already had a great deal of success in the live entertainment sector and it’s likely that a proportion of the £40m will be invested in the music business. The company’s previous investments have included live events featuring Jennifer Lopez, Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen and the Rolling Stones.

The fund is targeting a minimum three times return for its private investors over its seven- to ten-year life. “There are nearly 160,000 creative industries businesses in Britain, yet despite being in this high-growth sector, many of them find it difficult to attract adequate capital to maximise their potential. Our new Edge Creative Enterprise Fund aims to fill that funding gap,” says Glick. “[It] will bring much-needed growth capital to smaller businesses in the creative industries, and we are grateful to the British Business Bank and all the fund’s investors for their support.”

Ken Cooper, MD of venture capital solutions at British Business Bank, adds, “This is the first fund specifically focused on the creative industries backed by the British Business Bank. We look forward to working with Edge Investments, which has extensive experience in this sector and a proven track record. The creative industry is of increasing importance to the wider UK economy and we are particularly pleased that this fund will ensure these high-growth businesses have access to the finance they need to scale.”